by Amanda Abram
AMANDA ABRAM
COPYRIGHT © 2018 by Amanda Abram. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission from the author at [email protected]
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or otherwise are entirely coincidental.
1st Edition Electronic book published 2018 by
Amanda Abram
To everyone who supported this book on Wattpad and FictionPress. I can’t thank you all enough.
Prologue
LOGAN
I stared down at the test lying on the desk in front of me and rolled my eyes so hard I think I might have strained something.
This. Is. So. Stupid.
I was taking this test for one reason and one reason only: my girlfriend was making me. Okay, maybe the term “girlfriend” was a little strong. We weren’t exclusive or anything. She wanted to be, but she knew how I felt about stuff like that. I liked girls. A lot. I just didn’t want to be in long-term relationships with them. At eighteen years old, why should I? I’d have plenty of time later in life to settle down and choose a woman to spend eternity with. Like maybe when I was in my late thirties or forties.
I knew exactly what Grace was doing in making me take this test. She was convinced whatever algorithm those nerds in Computer Club were using to run our answers against was going to reveal that she and I were perfect for one another. And she thought if it was proven to me that we were meant to be together, then I would want to take our relationship to the next level. You know, like I’d give her my class ring and take her to senior prom next year, and other dumb stuff boyfriends did in serious relationships.
But Grace didn’t know me well at all. If she did, she would’ve known I didn’t care what some computer had to say about who should or shouldn’t be together. She would’ve known I had no interest in becoming her—or any girl’s—steady boyfriend. Just the term “steady boyfriend” made me want to dry heave.
What she did know about me, however, was how easily I could be bribed into doing something if she threatened to take away certain physical activities. Which was how I ended up in my last study hall of the school year, sitting at a desk with a number 2 pencil in hand, filling out thirty tiny, little circles that represented absolutely nothing.
The whole thing was nothing more than a simple fund-raiser, where all the proceeds would go to next year’s Project Graduation. The Emerson High Computer Club came up with the idea, and one of its members developed the algorithm. The concept was simple: pay twenty dollars, answer thirty relationship-themed questions taken directly from one of those annoying chick magazines girls like to read, and then sit back and wait for the computer software to run against all the tests and determine who your soulmate was. Or, at the very least, who you were most likely to hook up with over the summer.
After filling out all my personal information at the top, I glanced at the first question on the piece of paper and instantly groaned.
What is your idea of a perfect first date?
That was easy. Making out in the backseat of my car. Unfortunately—but not surprisingly—that wasn’t an option, so I’d have to choose another one. Reading down the list, none of them sounded appealing to me. Dinner and a Movie? A Romantic Picnic in the Park? Bowling? A Party? Bungee Jumping?
Oh my God, this quiz was dumb. The questions were dumb. The intent of it was dumb. All the people who were taking it seriously were dumb. And yes, I was even including Grace in that group of people.
Hey, I never claimed to be with her for her intelligence.
I guess, out of everything to choose from, A Party was the best one. It was most definitely the one Grace would choose, because she was a party girl. I, on the other hand, was not a big fan of parties, although I’d been to my fair share of them over the years and enjoyed most of them.
Preparing the tip of my pencil to fill in the circle next to A Party, I stopped for a second to think about what I was doing. I was about to choose the same answer Grace would. Which meant, if I did that on all the questions, the algorithm would pair us up. The exact opposite result of what I was going for.
And that’s when a brilliant idea hit me. If I went through this entire quiz and intentionally chose the opposite of what I knew Grace would pick, then we wouldn’t get paired up. And if we didn’t get paired up, maybe she would start to question if we were good together. Maybe she’d get paired up with another guy she decided she liked more than me, and she’d dump me, and I’d no longer have to worry about her pressuring me to be a better boyfriend—or a boyfriend at all.
Inspired by my sudden stroke of genius, I sat up in my chair, hunched over my desk, and started furiously filling out circles next to each question. My method was quite simple: read each question and answer them all the way a total loser would. Sure, this would no doubt get me paired up with some Plain Jane geek girl, but I would make sure to let her down easy. It would all be worth it to see the look of disbelief on Grace’s face.
Five minutes later, I was done. With a smirk, I slouched back in my chair and clasped my hands behind my head. Logan Reynolds, I said to myself, mentally patting myself on the back, you’re one clever son of a bitch.
Chapter One
EMMA
“You are such a loser.”
I glared over the top of my sunglasses at my so-called best friend, Chloe Marks. “Gee, thanks, Chloe. I needed that ego boost.”
“What?” she said, all innocent-like. She didn’t even look up from her magazine. “I’m telling you like it is. Tomorrow, Sophia and I are getting on a plane to go to Orlando for the summer—sans parents—and you’ve chosen to stay here to, what, organize your book collection?”
She said it like that wasn’t an important thing to do. When you have as many books as I do—in the hundreds—you’ve got to organize them. Currently, they were simply in alphabetical order by author. But all year, I’d been meaning to switch it up. I wanted them to be organized into different genres first, and then alphabetized. I just hadn’t decided yet whether I wanted them in order by author name, or title…
“Oh my God.” Chloe moaned as she made a face at me. “You’re fantasizing about organizing your book collection right now, aren’t you?”
“No,” I mumbled, taking a sip of my iced tea.
Truth was, while organizing my book collection was high on my Summer To-Do list, the real reason for not joining my friends on their Florida adventure was…well…I was kind of hoping to fall in love.
While both Chloe and Sophia were aware of the fact I took the Computer Club’s Summer Fling Compatibility Test, neither one was aware of how seriously I was taking it. When you’ve gone nearly eighteen years of your life with no boyfriend, and you’ve never even been asked out by anyone, you’ll take it seriously too. Neither Chloe nor Sophia could possibly understand. Despite being just as nerdy as I was, neither girl ever had a shortage of male suitors. Sophia, for instance, started dating in the eighth grade and she hadn’t gone more than two weeks at a time without a boyfriend since.
Just a quick reminder: I’d gone nearly eighteen years.
I wasn’t even sure why that was. I didn’t think I was hideous or anything. Sure, I wore glasses half the time. Or most of the time, since I only needed them for reading and I was almost always reading. And sure, I was kind of tall and lanky—a look high school boys apparently weren’t clamoring for. And yeah, whenever I hung out at the library, I’d get asked by people where to find certain books bec
ause they thought I worked there. And, okay, I didn’t wear makeup, mainly because I had no idea how to put it on. So, I guess I could see why there hadn’t been a line of guys waiting to take me out, but still.
This was why I was excited to take the compatibility test. It would essentially set me up on a date I didn’t have to wait to be asked out for. And whoever I got paired up with would obviously be looking for the same things I was, since the whole point of it was to match up like-minded people.
But there was no way I could admit to my friends that the test was the reason I was foregoing a trip of a lifetime. They wouldn’t understand. I wasn’t even sure I understood.
Chloe half-smiled and shook her head as she set down her magazine and stretched out on the chaise lounge. “Man, I’m going to miss lounging by a pool all summer in the sweltering heat.”
She was being sarcastic, of course, because she was going to be in Florida all summer, where there was a pool every ten feet, and the heat was always sweltering. She was teasing me, but I was okay with that. I’d made my decision and I stood by it. I’d take sweet, summer romance any day over whatever kind of antics those two girls were going to get themselves into while away from parental supervision.
“Knock, knock,” came a sultry voice from a few feet away. I glanced up to see that our other friend, Sophia Ramirez, had joined us. In her hand, she carried a pile of envelopes.
“Mail’s here,” she said, dropping the pile onto my stomach before giving both me and Chloe air kisses.
My heart started racing in my chest. I’d been eagerly awaiting the mail every day this week because the results from my test were supposed to arrive no later than Thursday.
Quickly, I sifted through each envelope. Cable bill, electric bill, and a credit card offer for my parents. A birthday card for me from my Aunt Jo, even though my birthday wasn’t for another three weeks (she always screwed that up). And finally, on the bottom of the pile, another envelope addressed to me, with the return address of nothing but Emerson High Computer Club. I couldn’t help it; I squealed with excitement as I tossed all other mail onto the ground and ripped into the envelope with reckless abandon.
“Is that what I think it is?” Chloe asked, but she already knew the answer.
I nodded as I pulled out the piece of paper with shaky hands. In less than a few seconds, I would be finding out who my soulmate was. I didn’t even care who it was. If the computer paired me up with him, it was because it viewed us as having a lot in common. He probably loved reading as much as I did. Maybe even more! And he probably liked going to museums, stargazing, spending quiet evenings at home, cuddling…
I didn’t realize I was staring dreamily off into the distance until Sophia waved a hand in front of my face and said, “Well? Are you going to read the letter, or what?”
Blinking, I brought myself back down to Earth and held the piece of paper in front of my face. Taking a deep breath, I carefully unfolded it and braced myself for whatever I was about to read.
Instantly, I let out a whoosh of air as I read the words printed on it.
Dear Emma Dawson,
Congratulations! We here at the Emerson High Computer Club have found your match! Are you ready to spend the summer getting to know your soulmate?
We have arranged a time and place for the two of you to meet. Please see below for details.
Sincerely,
The Members of the Emerson High Computer Club
“Well?” Chloe asked, sounding as excited as I’d felt a few short moments before. “Who is it? Who’s the lucky guy?”
My shoulders slumped forward in disappointment. “I don’t know yet. All this tells me is where to meet him.”
Sophia grabbed the letter from my hands and read it herself. “Hmm, interesting. This is a cute idea. You’re going on a mystery date!”
Chloe got up and took the letter from Sophia. “You and your soulmate will meet on Friday, June 22nd, at the Dream Bean coffee shop at 7:00 p.m.,” she read aloud. “Included in this envelope is a card with a number on it. Your perfect match will be carrying the same card. Have some coffee, some good conversation, and plan your summer together. All results are final. No refunds. Thank you for your participation.”
With a grunt, I grabbed the letter back from Chloe. “It’s only Wednesday. I have to wait two more days?”
“Good things come to those who wait,” Chloe pointed out in a singsong voice.
“Aw, we’re not going to be here to see our girl off on her first date,” Sophia said to Chloe with a pout.
Chloe gasped. “Who’s going to do your hair? Your makeup? We can at least help you pick out your outfit before we leave, but—”
“Hey there, ladies.”
Chloe was interrupted by the sound of a male voice behind her—an annoying male voice—and I looked up to see Logan Reynolds, my next-door neighbor and bane of my existence, poking his head over the fence that separated our houses.
Quickly, I stuffed the letter into the back pocket of my jean shorts before he had a chance to see it. I couldn’t risk him finding out I’d taken that test because he would never let me live it down.
Logan Reynolds and I had lived next door to each other our entire lives. His father and my father grew up together as best friends. They were so close they went to law school together, became lawyers together, and eventually opened their own firm. They got married around the same time and their wives got pregnant with me and Logan only a couple months apart. As soon as Logan and I became old enough to start walking and talking, our parents tried to force a friendship between the two of us. Maybe when we were four we got along, but as soon as we started elementary school, it was all downhill from there.
I hated Logan, and he hated me. It was a beautiful thing.
“I thought I heard a couple of sexy voices over here. And Emma’s.” Logan glanced smugly over at me, clearly satisfied with his burn.
Ha-ha. With a roll of my eyes, I said, “Logan, don’t you have a girlfriend to go torment with your presence?”
He placed both hands on the top of the fence and began to hoist himself up. “Thanks. I would love to join you guys.”
While I began to seethe, Chloe and Sophia both giggled as they watched Logan effortlessly jump the fence and land gracefully on the grass before us.
“You’re trespassing,” I informed him, but he ignored me. Technically, he wasn’t trespassing. My parents told him long ago that he was welcome over at our house anytime—day or night, rain or shine. Luckily, he’d never taken them up on the offer.
Until now.
“What are you girls gossiping about over here?”
Chloe opened her mouth to respond—most likely with the truth, so I shot her a warning glance. “Um,” she said, taking the hint, “we were talking about the Florida trip Sophia and I are leaving for tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Logan said as he made his way over to us. “It’s too bad. I’m going to miss having some scenery to look at around here this summer.”
Chloe, in her blue and white striped bikini, and Sophia, in her short jean shorts and bright yellow bikini top, both blushed furiously at his comment, and I had to force a wave of bile back down my throat.
“Well, you’ll still have Emma,” Sophia chirped.
Logan snorted and turned his gaze to me. I was wearing nothing close to a bikini, or any other type of swimwear, even though it was about 95 degrees out. Instead, I donned a pair of shorts much more modest than Sophia’s, and a vintage Reading Rainbow t-shirt that was loose enough to hide my underwhelming figure underneath. I looked like a frump in comparison to my friends, and Logan’s reaction indicated that fact wasn’t lost on him.
But, surprisingly, he refrained from making any snide comments. Instead, he said, “Well, I thought I would drop in to tell you two to have a good trip. I’m heading over to Matt’s. We’re going to the beach for the afternoon.”
At the mention of Logan’s best friend, Matt Fisher, my heart skipped a beat.
I shouldn’t have been, but I was in love with Matt. I had been for years. He was your typical high school jock—tall and muscular with pretty-boy good looks. Dark blond hair that sometimes grew long enough to start falling into his eyes right before he’d get it cut. He’d lived across the street from me since about the fourth grade, and while he’d acknowledged me before with eye contact and waves when we both happened to be out in our front yards, we’d never had an actual conversation.
My unrequited crush on Matt was a majority of the reason why I wanted to take the compatibility test in the first place. I wasn’t stupid; I realized Matt and I would never be a thing. He went for the popular, cheerleader type and that wasn’t me. So, figuring it was about time I got over him, I took the test in hopes of finding somebody else to be in love with.
“Would you two care to join us?” Logan asked Chloe and Sophia, before turning to me and saying, “I’d invite you too, Dawson, but I know you want to get started on organizing your book collection.”
Chloe stifled a giggle as my blood began to boil in my veins. The jerk had been eavesdropping on our conversation…which meant it was entirely possible he’d heard us talking about the compatibility test as well…
“That’s okay,” I said, my voice somehow calm and collected. “I have no desire to see you without a shirt on, anyway.”
Admittedly, that was a lie. While I may have hated Logan Reynolds with every ounce of my being, I was still a teenage girl with occasional raging hormones, and the guy was hot. I’d seen both him and Matt shirtless before, most recently while playing basketball in Matt’s driveway, and it was hardly the worst thing I’d ever seen.
But I couldn’t let him know that.
Logan grinned. “Liar. Do you even own a bathing suit, anyway? Do you even know how to swim?”
It had been less than one minute since Logan jumped the fence between our houses, and I’d already had my fill of him for one day. “Screw you,” I said. I bent down and grabbed my book off the lounge chair and began my march toward the sliding glass door to let myself into the house.